


Skill Transitioning

by Ononymous



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 06:25:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16989729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: The former members of the Royal Guard are feeling restless, so Frisk suggests to Asgore to found a police force they can apply their skills to. Among others, Undyne and Papyrus are the most enthusiastic.





	Skill Transitioning

It wasn't a large meeting hall to begin with, and some of its present inhabitants only magnified that feeling. Even though most were the size of humans, and the majority of the others were smaller, the few significantly larger monsters took up all the space by themselves. One of those larger monsters, and far and away the fluffiest, stood on a small stage, a few other monsters and a human sitting there as well.

"Howdy," said Asgore, "is everybody comfortable?" He heard mutters of confirmation. "Now then, you all know why I've asked you to come here today?"

"Yeah, boss," said Doggo, "we read the letter." His fellow dogs barked in agreement.

"So nobody needs further explanation?" A brief silence. "Wonderful. In that case there's no need to repeat myself. So, do you have any concerns?" They didn't. "Very well. So we'll just go ahead with it. Enlistment will be held at-"

BANG. "There you are!"

Every head and head-like-approximation turned to the main doors, and followed the flaming red hair as its owner marched up to the stage.

"Oh, Undyne," said Asgore in pleasant surprise, "I thought you weren't home from your holiday until tonight."

"The bus from the airport broke down," she shrugged, "so I ran home instead."

"Ah. Did Doctor Alphys run alongside you?"

"She told me she wanted to try, but..." Undyne's face was trying very hard to remain tactful, and Asgore understood. "So I carried her. She's just trying to clean all the bugs out of her glasses right now. I got some cool pictures of flowers I thought you'd like, and everyone said you were here. Hey guys!" Many in the hall returned the greeting. "So, what's up?"

"Well, if you came here directly I assume you have not gone through your mail yet?"

"This was way more important!"

He chuckled softly. "In that case, you aren't aware of the proposition. I was going to talk to you tonight, but now is as good as anytime." A few of the audience groaned as the possibility of a quick adjournment was now quashed. "Some of the ex-Guardsfolk were feeling a little under the weather, now that the position they have trained for no longer exists."

Undyne looked at her former comrades in the crowd. "Oh. Yeah, I get that feeling sometimes. That's what my weights are for."

"Indeed. Well Frisk here suggested that perhaps we could put those skills to use once again."

"YOU'RE RECONSTITUTING THE GUARD? CAPITAL, YOUR MAJESTY!" Everyone now looked at the second uninvited guest. "COULD YOU PLEASE FORBID UNDYNE FROM FORBIDDING ME FROM JOINING THIS TIME?"

"Oh, Papyrus," said Asgore, taking the intrusion in further stride, "what brings you here?"

"I SAW UNDYNE BARGE IN, SO I FIGURED THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A LIFE OR DEATH EMERGENCY OF SOME SORT."

"Pap," said Undyne, "I, uh, I kinda barge in everywhere?"

"WELL YES. BUT IF I NEGLECTED THE POSSIBILITY, I WOULD BE A COMPLETE NINNY."

"Hmm," said Asgore. "I'm sorry to say I am not planning to reform the Royal Guard." He found it hard to look at Papryus' disappointed grin. "However, what I am planning to do is found a new Police Force for the town. In that way, we do not overtax human law enforcement, and it provides former guards the potential to protect their fellow monsters once again."

"NYEH-HAH!" cried Papyrus through an identically delighted grin. "THAT SOUNDS EVEN COOLER. WHERE CAN I SIGN UP?"

"Well, officially former guards were to get precedent in enlistment," said Asgore, "but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to allow a former trainee to sign up now."

"WOWIE, THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT! WHAT WILL YOU CALL US? I ASSUME YOU HAVE A REALLY COOL NAME IN MIND?"

Asgore nodded. "Oh, of course. I was thinking, um... the... Police... Force?"

Papyrus stroked his mandible. "SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD, SIRE. BUT PERHAPS SOMETHING WITH A LITTLE MORE 'NYEH' WOULD BE EXCITING. OH, I KNOW, HOW ABOUT THE 'ROYAL ULTRA-COOL' FORCE? THAT SHOULD MAKE IT CLEAR TO EVERYONE WHAT WE'RE ABOUT. OH, HELLO FRISK..."

At Papyrus' suggestion, Frisk had grabbed their phone and was looking something up on it. The information in question found, they dismounted the stage and approached Papyrus, giving him their phone. He read silently for a few moments.

"...AH. YES, WE'D LIKE TO AVOID CONFUSION WITH ASSOCIATIONS LIKE THAT."

"So, Undyne," said Asgore, "are you interested in enlisting?"

To everyone's surprise, Undyne looked doubtful. "I dunno... ever since the barrier broke, I've been almost paralysed at the possibilities on offer. So much I could do, and so many new friends to do it with. To go back to what looks a lot like my old job with a different coat of paint? Doesn't feel like I'm seizing the day properly, you know?" The crowd muttered in interest.

"If you succeed training, your previous experience should let you graduate as Captain."

Her doubt leapt out a glass window with a great shattering noise nobody could hear. "Hell yeah, let's do this!"

* * *

"Next!"

Lesser Dog's tail drooped with exhaustion as he picked himself up from the end of the obstacle course, heavy panting carried through the air. In a squashy armchair transplanted on the field, Gerson took notes on his performance. To Undyne, he'd at least done better than Doggo, who'd been derailed by the swinging ropes until someone actually swung them and he could see them. As Dogamy and Dogaressa were helping each other stretch, Undyne stepped forward.

"Candidate zero-zero-two, ready for basic physical assessment, sir!"

Gerson traced the list of names with his olive finger. "Zero... zero... two..."

"Second from the top, Gerson?"

"Oh yeah, so you are! Wa ha ha. Okay, Miss Undyne, you pass."

"Right, so blow your whistle and I'll-"

He shook his head. "Nope. You pass, you're through."

"Huh? Why would you decide that without even seeing...?"

His yellow eye gazed at her. "C'mon, kiddo, it's you. Just be a waste of time statin' the obvious. Don't punch a gift horse in the mouth."

"Oh. Oh, okay. Thanks Gerson!" Her razor sharp grin covered up her disappointment as she went over to where several dogs were lapping up water from a trough. She didn't join them.

"Aight, next!"

"CANDIDATE ZERO-ZERO-ONE, READY FOR BASIC PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT, SIR!"

"Zero... zero... ah, there you are, young Pappy. Over to the start line, sonny."

"YES SIR."

Once in position, non-existant muscles were fully stretched to maximize flexibility, sockets looking at the first obstacle, a wall roughly one-and-a-half Asgores in height.

_Fweeeet!_

And he was off. Dashing towards the wall. And then the tire course. And then the barbed wire. And then the monkey bars. And then the swing rope. And then-

"FINISHED, MISTER GERSON!"

Two yellow eyes looked down at the stop watch. A third joined it as Undyne approached her mentor. "That can't be right. You're meant ta go through the obstacles, not avoid 'em."

"EH? BUT I DID."

"But this time here reckons..." Two scaly heads shook. "Look sonny, reckon you can't give the course another go, see if it makes sense."

"OKAY. THIS IS FUN, ANYWAY." He returned to the starting line, oblivous to the heavy scrutiny he was now under.

"Ready?" _Fweeeet!_

And he was off. Again. Gerson paid close attention as his posture shifted upon nearing the wall. And then as it returned to straight running as he now approached the tires. And then as he sped away from the tires and...

"FINISHED! AGAIN!"

Papyrus was still denied constructive criticism of his performance, as the wizened adjudicator was still having a hard time observing it.

"Mind if... mind if ya tell me what style o' runnin' that was, Pappy?"

"I CALL IT THE TRY-REALLY-HARD-TO-FINISH-AS-FAST-AS-POSSIBLE STYLE, SIR. AND I DIDN'T NEGLECT A SINGLE OBSTACLE!"

To accuse the skeleton of falsehood took a braver turtle than the one standing there. "Eh, fair enough. Best time of the day so far. You'll be a fit cop at that rate."

"NYEH HEH HEH! PERFECT!" He exchanged a high-five with Undyne, who was too enthusiastic to worry about how Papyrus had gotten from A to Z without the rest of the alphabet.

"Great job, Papyrus. This was an awesome idea!"

* * *

"Ngah, this was an awful idea!"

Undyne's left leg was a blur, jiggling nonstop as its owner forced herself to remain in her seat, eye spinning from the loose-leaf stack of notes in a neat but large script.

"LAW ENFORCEMENT ISN'T MERELY ABOUT CHASING WRONGDOERS, UNDYNE," reminded her study buddy, "WE HAVE TO KNOW THE LAW. OTHERWISE WE'RE JUST YELLING AT PEOPLE TO BEHAVE."

"Why not? Worked in the guard."

"PERHAPS, BUT THIS ISN'T THE GUARD. IF IT MAKES IT ANY EASIER, TRY IMAGINING THINGS AS A PUZZLE. MATCH UP ALL THESE ACTS WITH THE LAWS THEY DEFY."

"Ugh, but those laws are so dull! ' _Where a person or persons commit aggressive acts against another person or persons in the course or furtherance of some other offence, the acts shall not amount to battery unless done with the same malice aforethought (express or implied) as is required for-_ ' I can't even remember what I'm supposed to be accusing the perp of! Who wrote these laws anyway?"

"I BELIEVE THE QUEEN CODIFIED THEM."

Undyne pinched a nose-free part of her face. "Figures, she's one for overthinking. And what the hell is acting rayguns?"

" _ACTUS REUS_ , 'THE GUILTY ACT'. CONTRAST WITH _MENS REUS_ , THE MENTAL STATE OF GUILT, THE ABSENCE OF WHICH DRASTICALLY ALTERS THE CONTEXT OF-"

"What is this, philosophy? I thought that crap was for the lawyers. It's what they do on TV anyway."

Papyrus briefly consulted the brand new looking textbook he had in his hand. Undyne missed him swapping it out. "W-WELL, PERHAPS WE CAN LOOK AT OPERATING PROCEDURE WHILE I DEVISE A CLEVER RHYMING SCHEME TO HELP YOU LEARN THE THEORY."

Her leg slowed down in celebration of the reprieve. "Okay, I guess. So what are you gonna have me do?"

"WELL, PRETEND YOU'VE JUST PULLED OVER A VEHICLE UNDER SUSPICION OF SPEEDING. THE DRIVER HAS LOWERED THEIR WINDOW AFTER YOU WALK UP TO SPEAK WITH THEM. WHAT DO YOU SAY?"

A blue spear flashed into existence. "Outta the car, punk!"

Papyrus beamed in pride. "WOWIE, YOU SOMEHOW KNEW I WAS GOING TO HAVE THE DRIVER REFUSE COOPERATION AND BECOME HOSTILE, THEREBY AUTHORISING YOU TO RESPOND TO THEIR MAGICAL FORCE WITH YOUR OWN! GREAT INSTINCTS, UNDYNE!"

His joy clashed with her instincts to be honest. "...no, I just wanted 'em to submit to me right away so it wouldn't get that far."

Papyrus looked at the desk. "...OH. I SEE. S-STILL! NOBODY GETS THESE THINGS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. THE INSTINCTS OF A POLICE OFFICER TAKE A WHILE TO HONE. WE ARE HERE TO PROTECT, NOT ATTACK. DE-ESCALATION IS A CRITICAL SKILL TO MASTER. I'M SURE YOU CAN DO IT!"

She smiled a little at the second chance she'd been offered. "How'd you know all this stuff anyway?"

"I LOOKED IT UP ONLINE AFTER I ENLISTED."

"Heh, of course you did."

"NOW, LET'S TRY AGAIN. YOU APPROACH THE CAR AND SAY...?"

"Um... 'License, please'?"

"YES!" He nodded vigorously. "DO YOU SAY ANYTHING ELSE?"

His encouragement egged her on. "'No sudden movement or this-'" The spear returned. "'-gets jammed where the sun don't shine!'"

"...PERHAPS A LITTLE STRONG."

"Yeah, a little."

* * *

The park was crowded. Much like the meeting hall which had been the genesis of the police force, this outdoor ceremony representing its true birth felt even more crowded than it otherwise may have been, owing to even more larger monsters sitting before a simple stage. Asgore was even less alone than he had been before, as in addition to the monsters and human which had accompanied him before, two dozen other monsters clad in blue sat alongside them.

"Greetings," he called into the microphone, "and welcome to the first graduation ceremony of the..." he checked his notes, "The TBD Police Force!"

The applause drowned out the few chuckles, and although she was wincing, Toriel smirked at the placeholder name.

"It was our plan to have the officer with the highest marks to deliver a few words after being officially appointed, but we have the happy problem of two monsters meeting that requirement. So first, with top marks in criminal pursuit and bystander protection, Captain Undyne!"

She adjusted her new hat slightly as she got up from her seat and approached her other mentor. They shook hands before he pinned a badge to her chest, and ceded the podium to her.

"Thank you, your majesty. This badge represents a renewal of the trust you have always had in me to do what is best for our people. No one monster can do that alone, no matter how hard they try, and to once again be officially on the team that will keep us safe is a great honour. And oh yeah, stay out of trouble, punks!"

Alphys in the front row of the audience applauded hardest, each clap slightly louder than any other.

"Well said," cheered Asgore. "But we cannot allow you to hog the spotlight. For our second valedictorian, achieving highest marks in physical performance and legislative recall, Officer Papyrus!"

The applause wasn't quite as energetic as it had been for Undyne, but it was more than made up for with a _Pbbt! Pbbt! Pbbt!_ noise as Sans repeatedly clapped into a whoopee cushion. Like with Undyne, Papyrus shook hands with Asgore, received his badge of office, then assumed the podium.

"WOWIE, THIS IS A MAGNIFICENT HONOUR! THANK YOU SO MUCH, SIRE. NOW THEN, UNACCUSTOMED AS I AM TO PUBLIC PONTIFICATION, I SHALL BE BRIEF. THE LAW MUST NEVER SLEEP. THE DUTIES I AM ENTRUSTED WITH MUST BE FULFILLED AT ALL TIMES. SO NOW I AM OFFICIALLY A POLICE OFFICER..."

 _PING._ Undyne shimmered blue and crumpled to her knees from where she'd been standing next to Asgore.

"CAPTAIN UNDYNE, YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"

"Ngah! What the hell is this?! What did I do!"

Papyrus took out a notebook and recited the list. "MENACING. UNLAWFUL PURSUIT OF A MINOR. ASSAULT WITH MAGIC. ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON. ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING. AND LANGUAGE UNBECOMING AN AGENT OF THE CROWN!"

"Huh?"

"DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT PURSUE FRISK WITH THE INTENT OF RETRIEVING THEIR SOUL?"

"That? Well yeah, but-"

"WELL ACCORDING TO VOLUMES TWO, FOUR AND FIVE OF THE _LEX CAPRA_ , THOSE ARE ALL CRIMES! YOU SHALL HAVE TO ANSWER FOR THEM!"

Dogamy, still sitting in his new police uniform, sniggered. It didn't last long, for with another _PING_ he was bound to his chair.

"DOGAMY! ASSAULT WITH MAGIC!" _PING._ "DOGARESSA! ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON!"

Most of the monsters in the park were realising what was going on, and a few canny ones tried to slip away. They wouldn't get far.

 _PING._ "METTATON! ARSON, UNLAWFUL EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL, COOKING WITHOUT A LICENSE." _PING._ "ALPHYS! UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT, FAILURE TO DISCLOSE!" _PING._ "TEMMIE! SUPPLYING OF UNAPPROVED SUBSTANCES WITH INTENT TO SELL!" _PING._ "SANS!"

Sans was unconcerned. "what'd i do?"

"DERILICTION OF DUTY AND LITTERING!"

He shrugged. "eh. 's a fair cop."

Before long, nearly every monster which had encountered Frisk in the Underground was safely in Officer Papyrus' custody. Asgore was one of the few at liberty, unlike even Toriel, and it looked like he was staying that way.

"Um, Officer," he said, "why aren't you arresting me?"

"ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?" It wasn't. "YOUR ACTS WERE AS THE SOVEREIGN HEAD OF THE KINGDOM, AND ANY GRIEVANCE ONE HAS WITH THEM ARE TO BE HANDLED AS A DIPLOMATIC MATTER RATHER THAN A LEGAL ONE!"

"Oh. Well, um, most of the charges you've lined up, they were all on behalf of my orders. I'm pretty sure the Treaty of Ebott extended an amnesty to everyone on that front. Shouldn't you free them?"

Papyrus took out more paperwork and rummaged through it. "I DON'T SEEM TO HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN POLICE FILES, SIRE. I SHALL HAVE TO ASK EVERYONE TO COME TO THE STATION TO CLEAR THINGS UP."

"But Papyrus," said Undyne, instinctively struggling to free herself, "didn't you try to capture Frisk too?"

He slapped his cheekbone. "EGADS, YOU'RE RIGHT! ASSAULT AND UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT! I SHALL HAVE TO ASK MYSELF SOME SEARCHING QUESTIONS." Unlike most of his prisoners, he tried to cuff himself. "NYAH, I MUST ADD RESISTING ARREST TO MY CHARGES AS WELL. YOUR MAJESTY, COULD YOU...?" Asgore mechanically helped to cuff him. "THANK YOU. NOW, OFFICER JERRY!"

The one unrestrained police officer looked up from his phone. "Yeah?"

"THOUGH YOU WERE RATHER RUDE AND UNPLEASANT TO FRISK, THOSE ARE NOT CRIMES. AS INTERIM CHIEF OF POLICE, COULD YOU ESCORT US TO THE STATION TO CLEAR THIS MATTER UP."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just need to check something on my phone."

"CAPITAL! WE SHALL WAIT FOR YOU!"

They waited a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
